Lisa Tomala, LPC

Lisa Tomala is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) with 20 years of experience helping people facing addiction, anxiety, depression, trauma, and major life changes. She listens without judgment and focuses on practical steps people can use right away. She also supports those coping with grief, sleep problems, parenting stress, career shifts, and relationship or intimacy concerns.

Her background includes a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from George Mason University and a Master of Science in Professional Counseling from Grand Canyon University. She has worked with active-duty service members who experienced PTSD, and with teens and adults managing substance use, anxiety, depression, and grief. Her own experience with loss informs a compassionate approach to bereavement.

Therapy with Lisa is collaborative and paced to the individual. She draws from Psychodynamic, Cognitive-Behavioral, Motivational Interviewing, and Solution-Focused techniques. That means she looks at how past experiences shaped current patterns, and also teaches concrete tools to change unhelpful habits and manage symptoms in daily life.

Clients can expect a focus on current symptoms and on building forward momentum. Lisa helps people identify roots of behavior and then practice new ways of responding. She can also incorporate Thomistic philosophical principles when clients want to include religious beliefs in sessions.

Outside of her work she enjoys hiking, painting, and time with family and her Australian Cattle Dog. Her style is steady, pragmatic, and warm, aimed at helping people move from coping to thriving.

Evidence-based approaches and online care

Lisa blends Psychodynamic and Cognitive-Behavioral ideas into straightforward work people can use each day. Psychodynamic work looks at how early experiences shape current patterns and helps name recurring themes that influence behavior. Cognitive-Behavioral techniques focus on identifying unhelpful thoughts and practicing specific skills to reduce anxiety, manage mood, or change substance-related behaviors.

She also uses Motivational Interviewing to help people find their own reasons for change and Solution-Focused methods to set short-term goals and build on small successes. Together these approaches aim to combine understanding with concrete steps toward recovery. Finding the right mix is part of the process, and she will collaborate with each person to choose approaches that match their needs, goals, and preferences.

The therapist's biography does not list which online session formats she uses, so confirm current options before booking. In general, online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life, reduce travel time, and allow for shorter check-ins when needed. It can also make it simpler to continue work during life transitions or when maintaining regular in-person visits is difficult. Licensed professionals can discuss how to structure sessions so they fit into daily routines and treatment goals.